Building a new business from the ground up is certainly no walk in the park – startup founders must battle against all odds to get their ventures up and running. It isn't just a matter of having business ideas and reading up a few startup tips on the internet. In order to succeed, they have very few people to rely on other than themselves. It’s too early for them to hire a full-fledged team to take care of all tasks big and small, so they end up playing a multitude of roles. It’s hard work, undoubtedly, but someone needs to do it until your startup is mature enough (or rich enough!) to get more people on board.

Wearing many different hats in your startup can be overwhelming; to help you keep a check on all the roles you should be administering as a startup CEO, here’s a list you can use to find out if you’re neglecting some part of your duties.

1. Cash Man (Or Woman)

All businesses run on money – if you’ve got no cash, you can say goodbye to your startup dream. However, soliciting the services of a top-notch accountant might be a little too luxurious for a fledgling startup; therefore, as the CEO, you have to become the person in charge of keeping the cash flowing into your business.

Having a comprehensive understanding of your company’s revenue streams and expenses is crucial for managing the flow of cash. Knowing what metrics to tweak to reduce expenses and increase cash flow is something you must master. If you do this job right, your startup will manage to stay afloat for a long time.

2. The Skipper

As a startup CEO, you’re continually motivated to realising your dream and work hard for it because, well, it’s your dream, after all. But the team that you assemble around yourself (however small) will be looking to you for motivation and inspiration.

You must ensure that you infect your team with the same passion and zeal that you feel towards your company – embrace the role of a mentor, a leader and a skipper. Nurture young minds and guide them to become entrepreneurs of tomorrow – not only will your team be thoroughly motivated, but they will also respect your vision and judgement.

3. The Salesperson

To grow your startup, you need to sell your product to people. Since you won’t have a dedicated sales team working for you – making calls on your behalf, deftly planting their business card in every extended hand and taking out clients for corporate lunches – it’s going to be just you for the most part, building leads, making conversions and networking.

4. Brand Builder

Going out on your own and reaching as many clients as possible is one thing, but after a while you want the clients to come to you, right? If you want to generate the right kind of buzz about your product, you need to build a brand around it, a reputation that will entice customers to approach you.

You may have to jump a few hoops to do this, as you won’t have the resources to hire a fancy PR firm – you must represent your company at industry events, leverage the power of social media, write blog posts and ask your employees, friends and family to spread word about your company. Every effort you make to establish a healthy brand reputation will reap numerous benefits in the future.

5. The Administrator

All other roles might be incredibly challenging, but this one might be the least glamorous. Amid all the sales scheming and brand building, you still have an office to run, employees to pay at the end of the month, supplies to order and mail to sort.

Having a small team might make discharging your duties as an administrator less difficult, but you still have to make sure that everything in the office is functioning smoothly.

It is a big ask for one person to fulfill all these roles and do them well; but that’s the responsibility you have to shoulder once you start your own company. Hopefully, this list will remind you of your various roles, so you keep putting in the effort to perform them suitably.

Article source: http://www.ivyclique.in/article/Start-up-Essentials/Startup-Tips-5-Most-Important-Roles-Of-A-Start-Up-CEO/NDA3OA==/MTIy

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